Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: I'll Become a Parrying Master! (3)
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Whoosh.
The wooden sword thrust toward the arrow shaft.
The red light that had flashed at the arrowhead's tip was fading, forming a small circle.
'Hit it...!!'
Clang─!!!
The moment the red light at the arrow's tip shrank to a point, the wooden sword connected.
The arrow's trajectory deflected off the sword, grazing my cheek as it passed.
"Ngh...!"
I'd noticed the sound of it flying was different. It wasn't a normal arrow.
The impact transmitted through the wooden sword left my entire hand numb.
Thud!
Caught off guard, I tumbled over, pain spreading through my whole body.
My eyes were drawn involuntarily to the black hole in the wall that seemed to be watching me.
'Move!!'
I bit down hard on my lower lip to shake off the rising distractions.
Arrows flew every second. Even a moment's hesitation would turn me into a pincushion.
This wasn't the time to rest after deflecting just one arrow.
Tap!
'Please...!!'
A few more steps—that was all I needed.
No time to stand and walk, so I barely planted my toes, braced my arms against the ground, and hurled my body forward.
Whoooosh─!!
How spot-on was that wiki guide? Deviate by even a few seconds, and arrows come flying from all directions. Probably the same behind me, out of sight.
And among that barrage, exactly three arrows flashed red.
It felt like they were marked as the real threats.
'Can't swing the sword like this...!'
Not in this position.
I could force it, but one swing would be my limit.
'Damn...!'
I wrapped my sword arm around my chest and shielded my face with the shield in my left hand.
Please don't hit. And if it does, not in a vital spot.
I gritted my teeth, squeezed my eyes shut, and braced for the impact.
Thud thud─!!
Slam──!!
"Haa... haa...!"
Having thrown myself full force, pain surged through every muscle.
The floor wasn't smooth, so my back and arms took the brunt of it.
Still, even though I was sure it'd leave bruises, it wasn't agonizing.
"Ha, haha...."
Laughter bubbled up at the sight of two arrows embedded in my shield and the rest still viciously whipping through the passage.
The wooden sword had flown from my grip on impact with the ground, but the sensation of deflecting the arrow lingered vividly in my hand.
'Even the last one just grazed the sword.'
If I'd swung half-assed, my heart might've been pierced.
"......"
Seeing that bright red circle at the arrow's tip brought back the technique manual I'd read a hundred times.
The perfect timing when the enemy's attack flashes to seize your eyes.
Without the wiki highlighting it like a game, I never could've swung.
"I really love you, wiki...."
Essentially, the wiki had whispered right in my ear: 'Swing.'
Whooosh!
"Ha."
Looking at the relentless arrows, my heart pounded belatedly.
Not from fear or anxiety, but from that pointless dopamine rush of surviving again. My body trembled.
'Keep this up, and it'll become a habit.'
Back when I was holed up in my room, I never got why people did extreme sports... Now I kinda do.
No, compared to what I'm doing now, extreme sports are a joke.
"Crazy bastard."
I mocked myself as I pushed to my feet.
It was ridiculous that after nearly dying five times in ten days, here I was laughing.
Rumble....
I picked up the wooden sword and headed toward the opening door.
I snapped a casual shot of the Regression Gallery ticket welcoming me back, then glanced over my shoulder.
Snickering at the arrows still flying regardless of the open door, I flipped them the bird.
"Never seeing you again."
Dopamine was one thing—this sucked.
Step.
Stretching as I passed through the dark passage.
My back and arms throbbed. Rest for today, or push to the 20th floor to properly test parrying? Tough call.
Back in the cavern, I looked up at the floating timer—
-1-
"Ah, fuck."
I squeezed my eyes shut, realizing regression meant facing this shit again next time.
'......It'll change, right?'
No way it'd spit out the exact same thing just because I cursed.
That'd be boring.
Right...?
Rumble...!!
"Hoo."
I rolled my aching arm and took a shallow breath.
As the door groaned open amid the roar, I grabbed the wooden sword and shield leaning nearby.
19th floor cleared.
After escaping the 15th, a short break, then another hour to climb to 19.
Nothing special from 16 to 19.
Move, hit, smash.
Or dodge and repeat specific actions.
'All stuff you can no-skill with the wiki.'
No surprises like the 11th or tension like the 15th.
Step—
Back through the dark passage to the cavern, then straight to the tower again.
No hesitation. Dead set on reaching the 20th.
Stopping at 15 for rest was fine, challenging 20 tomorrow was fine—
'But 15th floor proof is too lame...'
After strutting off confidently in front of the mocking gallery, turning back at 15 would kill the high.
Plus, my goal entering the tower was to test parrying.
'Tried it once on 15, but...'
It wasn't a proper "deflect"—I'd gone in assuming combat with an "enemy," so it felt unsatisfying.
Might as well go all the way now.
A man draws his sword? Time to cut some grass.
Thud!!
"Whoa...."
Like my first time in some towers, my jaw dropped upon entering the 20th.
Bright. Blue sky instead of a ceiling.
I'd gone outdoors in the Heart Tower, but never with such a vibrant, non-gloomy backdrop.
'Never went outside much anyway...'
Years in my room, occasional outings meant nothing.
"Waaaaah!!"
A sense of liberation I couldn't put into words washed over me.
Real outdoors or tower illusion fooling my senses? Either way, the air tasted sweet.
'Can't climb the walls, huh?'
I chuckled, scanning around.
Cloudless blue sky.
One circular arena below it.
Standing alone in what you'd call a colosseum, no spectators.
'Probably spawns there.'
Far off, where the exit should be, stood an iron-barred gate.
Whatever was beyond, that's where the enemy would come from.
"So, who's showing up?"
Human? Beast?
Alien, monster—anything could appear in a place like this. No predicting.
Ruuuuumble!
Moments later, the sealed gate kicked up dust as it sank into the ground.
Thud─!
"......Unbelievable."
I looked up at the approaching figure and let out a hollow laugh.
"A human?"
A massive... wild boar walking on two legs and talking.
Revenge for the 10th floor? First time seeing one like that... not human, obviously. Still, wild.
How does a boar walk on two legs?
Beastman? Alien? No clue.
"Where is this, human?"
'Dragged here too?'
Climbing the tower like me, or hologram like the Luck Tower? Hard to say.
Asking "where" means it won't know either.
Doesn't change that I have to take it down.
Thud!
The sound drew my gaze—the path the boar had come through was resealed by the gate.
Beat it, and it opens? Didn't want to think about the alternative.
"Hoo...."
I took a deep breath at the predictable message floating before me.
The boar, not grasping the situation, narrowed its eyes fiercely.
"Answer me, human."
"No idea if you're a hologram or dragged here mid-climb like me—"
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
Shh.
"No malice. Come at me."
"......"
I raised my wooden sword, pointing at its head.
'......Damn, that was badass even to me.'
Sucks there's no audience.
"Hahaha!"
"?"
"A human's gone mad. You think that toy, unfit even for my kids, can fight me?"
"......Not like you're holding anything either."
I squinted at its sudden mockery.
Sure, this wooden sword wasn't much, but better than bare hands.
'Or maybe bare hands are stronger for a monster like that.'
Conversing normally dulled the threat.
We fight till one falls—unlike the 10th, no hostility.
Creepy-looking, but...
"Fair point. You could think that."
Shh.
"Y-You psycho!!"
As I watched, it suddenly shoved both hands into its pants.
Fumbling around down there, I grimaced.
"Found it."
"Fuck... you disgusting bastard...."
Why the hell is that coming from there?
Who keeps a weapon up their ass?
Store it elsewhere, turn around to draw it—fiddling in front was nauseating.
Shh.
"One survivor to open the gate."
"......"
I narrowed my eyes at how casually it gripped the weapon.
Two daggers. Technically knuckles with sharp blades attached.
Didn't suit its 2.5-meter-plus frame, but...
"No clue what's going on, but beating you should clarify."
'Never let it touch me, no matter what.'
Beyond just injury—that dagger absolutely could not land.
'It's not just fur...!!'
Graze that nasty stuff on the blade's tip, and I'd rather die outright.
Really. Absolutely. Never.
I had to dodge for my life.
Ding─!
'......Dodge five times for the special pattern?'
Seemed complicated, but boiled down simple.
Evasion or defense—either way, avoid its attacks.
"Ready, human?"
"Don't talk to me like we're buddies. It's creepy."
"Insolent."
"......"
Its arms moved, the fur on the dagger tips swaying.
Swaying... clinging stubbornly.
'Fuck, just fall off...!!'
"Here I come."
Tap─!!
"......!"
I went wide-eyed at the boar kicking off the ground.
Way faster than expected. House-sized boar charging on two legs packed real force.
Gulp.
But even at 1.5 times my height and blinding speed—
'......Manageable?'
Smaller than the 10th floor boar.
Slower than the 15th floor arrows.
Of course, that alone wouldn't beat it—
Flash.
'Right on cue...!'
I still had one more cheat key.
Red light burst from its fur tip... no, the blade tip.
Perfectly timing the "moment," the outer glow converged into the inner circle.
"Too scared to even dodge─!!"
It closed in, slashing at my neck.
Whoosh—
The instant the red became a circle, I swung with the form I'd practiced thousands of times this week.
Tap!
"What...!"
Its stance crumbled as it staggered back, shocked.
......That shock on a non-human face?
"Too slow. That full power?"
Lucky I'd barely dodged those 15th floor arrows.
One parry experience let me riposte perfectly.
'If it were a greatsword popping out, different story.'
Daggers like that? Wooden sword and shield handled fine.
Though a greatsword from its pants? Terror in every sense.
"You arrogant little...!!"
Gnashing its teeth, it charged again for my neck—but—
Flash.
"Wiki forever─!!"
Tap─!!
"!!!"
After countless game patterns, syncing to the shrinking circle was child's play.
Unless utterly unblockable, I was confident against attacks like that.
'Touch me and see.'
I'd parry every one, even betting my life.